Histopathological patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Sudan

Objective: To study the histological patterns of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Sudanese patients and to compare them with the internationally published series. Materials: A retrospective review for records of NPC patients treated in the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology and Oncology (INMO), Wadmedani, Sudan, during the period 2000-2005 was conducted. Parameters included in the review were histological types of NPC according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification, age, gender, locality, ethnicity, and stage. All cases of NPC with positive histology were included while other types of histology (lymphoma, sarcoma) were excluded. The SPSS software was used for data entry and analysis. Results: Total number of patients with NPC was 103. Age range from 11-82 years, median was 41 years, and mean was 45.5 years of age. Male:female ratio was 2:1. The WHO histology type-3 was 73.8% of cases, WHO type-2 was 26.2%, and there was no case of WHO type-1 found in this study population. Neck swelling is the most common presenting symptom (77.8%). Conclusions: Pattern of NPC classification resembles those seen in endemic areas like South China. Dominant histology was WHO type-3. Identifying risk factors for NPC in Sudan is required.